Elastic application framework for deploying software

ABSTRACT

Software is deployed to, and executed at, one or more computing devices in a computing system based on current conditions in the computing system and the capabilities of the different computing devices to handle the software. A request to run a software process calls a manager which determines an optimal place to run the software process. The manager can consider factors such as response time, user demands, bandwidth, processor utilization, storage utilization, security considerations, compatibility considerations and cost. Once a computing device is selected to run the software process, the manager facilitates movement of code and/or data to the computing device.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of allowed U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/580,057, filed Dec. 22, 2014, which is a Continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/328,974, filed on Dec. 5, 2008, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,918,761, both entitled “Elastic Application Frameworkfor Deploying Software,” both of which are incorporated herein byreference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

The growing presence of the Internet as well as other computer networkssuch as intranets and extranets has brought many new applications ine-commerce, education and other areas. Each computing device in thedistributed computing environment has its own resources, such asprocessing and storage resources, as well as the ability to communicatewith other computing devices. Computing devices can include servers,workstations, desktop computers, laptop computers, personal digitalassistants (PDAs), other hand held computing devices, cell phones and soforth. Further, each computing device is typically configured withsoftware for carrying out specific tasks. Based on the number of users,network availability and other factors, the distributed computingenvironment may or may not be able to meet the demands which are made ofit.

In particular, the demands which are placed on a distributed computingenvironment are dynamic in nature, and can vary in different aspects.For example, a particular computing device on which software isexecuting may be in high demand. In such cases, it is possible toprovision additional computing devices with copies of the software toimprove the availability of the software. For example, data centerstypically have many servers which run multiple copies or instances ofthe same software. Further, in some cases, software runs at a particularcomputing device, and data is maintained at a particular computingdevice, based on convention, lack of portability or compatibility, orproprietary interests of the software provider or network administrator.As a result, the available resources in a distributed computing networkare not optimally allocated based on current conditions in the network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1a depicts a high-level system diagram of a first embodiment of acomputing system which includes a manager and different managedcomputing devices.

FIG. 1b depicts a high-level system diagram of a second embodiment of acomputing system which includes a manager at a managed computing device.

FIG. 1c depicts a high-level system diagram of a third embodiment of acomputing system in which a physical computing device includes differentvirtual computing devices.

FIG. 1d depicts a high-level flowchart of a process in which a managerselects an appropriate computing device to execute software in acomputing system which may be based on the first through thirdembodiments of FIGS. 1a -1 c.

FIG. 2a depicts details of block 154 of FIG. 1 d.

FIG. 2b depicts details of block 160 of FIG. 1 d.

FIG. 2c depicts a detailed flowchart of a computing device-side process,as a counterpart to the manager-side process of FIGS. 1d and 2 b.

FIG. 2d depicts a high-level flowchart of a process in which a managerselects an appropriate computing device to execute software using datain a computing system which may be based on the first through thirdembodiments of FIGS. 1a -1 c.

FIG. 2e depicts details of block 260 of FIG. 2 d.

FIG. 2f depicts a detailed flowchart of computing device-side process,as a counterpart to the manager-side process of FIGS. 2d and 2 e.

FIG. 3a depicts a system diagram of a fourth embodiment, which is basedon the computing system of FIG. 1a , in which code is obtained by asecond computing device under the control of a manager.

FIG. 3b depicts a system diagram of a fifth embodiment, which is basedon the computing system of FIG. 1a , in which data is obtained by asecond computing device under the control of a manager.

FIG. 3c depicts a flowchart of a process involving movement of softwarewhich corresponds to the computing system of FIG. 3 a.

FIG. 3d depicts a flowchart of a process involving movement of datawhich corresponds to the computing system of FIG. 3 b.

FIG. 4a depicts a system diagram of a sixth embodiment of a computingsystem in which software components for processing data from a databaseare moved between computing devices.

FIG. 4b depicts a system diagram of a seventh embodiment of a computingsystem in which software components for processing data from a databaseare moved between computing devices, as an alternative to FIG. 4 a.

FIG. 4c depicts a flowchart of a process for managing movement andexecution of software components which corresponds to the computingsystems of FIGS. 4a and 4 b.

FIG. 5a depicts a system diagram of an eighth embodiment of a computingsystem in which a virtual compute/storage network has a firstdistribution of software components.

FIG. 5b depicts a system diagram of the computing system of FIG. 5a inwhich the virtual compute/storage network has a second distribution ofsoftware components.

FIG. 5c depicts a flowchart of a process for managing movement andexecution of software components, corresponding to the computing systemsof FIGS. 5a and 5 b.

FIG. 6a depicts a system diagram of a ninth embodiment, in which acomputing system has an example first distribution of image processingcomponents and image data at a user host, web server and databaseserver.

FIG. 6b depicts a system diagram of the computing system of FIG. 6a ,showing an example second distribution of image processing componentsand image data at a user host, web server and database server.

FIG. 6c depicts a flowchart of a process for managing movement andexecution of image processing components and image data, correspondingto a first distribution of components in the computing systems of FIGS.6a and 6 b.

FIG. 6d depicts a flowchart of a process for managing movement andexecution of image processing components and image data, correspondingto a second distribution of components in the computing systems of FIGS.6a and 6 b.

FIG. 6e depicts a flowchart of a process for managing movement andexecution of image processing components and image data, correspondingto a third distribution of components in the computing systems of FIGS.6a and 6 b.

FIG. 7a depicts a system diagram of a tenth embodiment, in which acomputing system has a user host with an email client.

FIG. 7b depicts a system diagram of the computing system of FIG. 7a , inwhich a user host has an email client and an email status component, asan alternative to FIG. 7 a.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Technology is provided for managing a distributed computing environmentto optimize the use of resources based on current conditions. Softwarecan be deployed and executed at one or more computing devices in acomputing system based on various factors such as response time, userdemands, bandwidth, processor utilization, storage utilization, securityconsiderations, compatibility considerations and cost. Further, datawhich is accessed by the software can similarly be optimally deployed inthe computing system. Initial and subsequent deployments of software anddata can be made in response to changing conditions in the computingsystem, including changes in the capabilities of the different computingdevices.

For example, a particular computing device may provide a request to amanager to execute a software process, such as a process in anapplication or other program. In response, the manager evaluates thesuitability of a number of candidate computing devices to execute thesoftware. The candidate computing devices can include the requestingcomputing device and other computing devices. For example, therequesting computing device may be a web server which receives acorresponding request from a user device which runs a browser program.The candidate computing devices can include, e.g., the user device, theweb server and perhaps a database server or application server. If theuser device is selected, the manager instructs it to execute code toperform the software process, if the code is already at the user device.If necessary, the manager can locate code at another computing deviceand coordinate the movement of the code to the user device, e.g., usingnetwork communication protocols. If a computing device which does notalready have the software is selected to execute the software, themanager may instruct the selected computing device to obtain and executethe code, such as by providing a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) fromwhich the selected computing device can download the code. Or, themanager may instruct another computing device to send the code to theselected computing device. The code which is moved can be an entireprogram or a portion of a program. Moreover, portions of a program maybe distributed on different computing devices so that the differentportions communicate to implement the overall program.

To illustrate various aspects of managing a distributed computingenvironment, FIGS. 1a, 1b and 1c are provided. These figures providedifferent high-level embodiments of a computing system which includes amanager and different managed computing devices, in which the movementof software and data among the computing devices is managed. They setout possible architectures in which management techniques discussedherein can be implemented. However, other architectures can be used aswell.

In particular, FIG. 1a depicts a high-level system diagram of a firstembodiment of a computing system which includes a manager and differentmanaged computing devices. The computing system provides a distributedcomputing environment and includes a number of example computing devicessuch as Computing Device A 100, Computing Device B 110 and ComputingDevice C 120 which can communicate with one another and with a manager140 via a network 130. A computing device may be a virtual or physicalcomputing machine. A virtual computing machine is a distinct logicalcomputing system, and can span one or more physical resources such asstorage and processing resources. A physical computing machine can beany physical computing device, such as a server, workstation, desktopcomputer, laptop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), palm topcomputer, other hand held computing device, cell phone or the like.Moreover, a physical computing machine can be provided as part of alarger system, such as in a control circuit of an industrial,residential or vehicular device. For instance, home networks arebecoming increasing prevalent in which devices such as security systems,appliances, and entertainment devices such as televisions and set-topboxes, communicate via a network. Physical computing machines can alsobe found in electronics systems of automobiles and other vehicles, forinstance, such as in navigation systems.

The network 130 can include the Internet, an intranet, a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), aprivate or public network or the like, and any type of transmissionmedia, including wired and wireless. Further, one or more networks maybe used to interconnect the computing devices and the manager. Themanager 140 provides a managing process for managing software which isexecuted by the computing devices. The manager 140 may be provided on aphysical or virtual computing device which is separate from, or combinedwith, one of the computing devices which is managed. For example, FIG.1b depicts a second embodiment of a computing system in which themanager 140 is provided at Computing Device A 100. Like-numberedelements correspond to one another in the figures.

FIG. 1c depicts a third embodiment of a computing system in which aphysical computing device 102 includes Virtual Computing Devices A andB, 104 and 106, respectively, which correspond to Computing Devices Aand B, 100 and 110, respectively of FIG. 1a . In this exampleconfiguration, Computing Device C 120 is a physical computing device.

Note that the manager and computing devices can communicate using anydesired communication scheme, including connection-oriented protocolssuch as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/Internet Protocol (IP), andconnectionless protocols such as User Datagram Protocol (UDP).Appropriate schemas can be used to identify the information which isexchanged.

Further, code which is executed in the computing system can includescript instructions such as JAVASCRIPT (ECMA-262), in one possibleimplementation. Script code is advantageous as it allows code such asbyte code to be portable so that it can be executed at differentplatforms. Script code also has the ability to call other script code ondemand. Script code can be executed or interpreted without the need forcompiling. JAVASCRIPT is a scripting language commonly used in web sitesas client-side script, such as when embedded in HTML web pages, but itenables scripting access to objects embedded in other applications aswell. Other example scripting languages include JSCRIPT of MICROSOFTCORP. and PHP (www.php.net).

Moreover, the code which is executed in the computing system can includedistinct components. Many common software development patterns involveseparating software into distinct components. For example, themodel-view-controller (MVC) pattern separates objects into one of threecategories: models for maintaining data, views for displaying all or aportion of the data, and controllers for handling events that affect themodel or view(s). Because of this separation, multiple views andcontrollers can interface with the same model. Also, new types of viewsand controllers that never existed before can interface with a modelwithout forcing a change in the model design. In a specific example, themodel components can include business logic, view components whichmanage a user interface and controller components which manage a networkand messaging.

Further, the separable components can also be portable so that they canbe used with different operating systems and hardware platforms. Forinstance, the use of a scripting language such as JAVASCRIPT can providesuch portability. JAVASCRIPT can be stored in files, similar to non-codedata, so that it can be easily accessed when needed. Further, asmentioned, JAVASCRIPT can be interpreted so that it can be quicklyexecuted without being compiled. JAVASCRIPT has become ubiquitous, andcan be invoked from many different programming languages, includingJAVA, RUBY and many others. JAVASCRIPT has typically been used in webpages so that when a web page is sent from a web server to a browser,the browser loads the web page and executes the JAVASCRIPT. JAVASCRIPTcan also be used in cell phones, home appliances, vehicle electronicsand other applications. The techniques provided herein extend thetraditional concept of moving JAVASCRIPT to, and executing it at, abrowser so that it can be moved to, and executed at, essentially anytype of computing device. Further, intelligence is added by a managingprocess to determine an optimal location to execute the code.

JAVASCRIPT has become an essentially platform independent language. Anapplication or other program can be defined in JAVASCRIPT in separablepieces that can run on different computing machines and communicatethrough existing Internet technologies such as by using URLs and IPaddresses. The manager provides a management framework in which theprocessing landscape can be adjusted so that processing occurs atoptimal locations in a computing system based on various factors.Further, the manager can provide a learning system by sensing conditionsin a network and automatically moving code and data around in an optimumconfiguration that reduces costs and enhances the user experience. Thecomputing devices on which the code and/or data is moved can be on thesame or different physical computing devices.

Additionally, in one possible implementation, the computing devices,including the manager, can communicate code, data, instructions or otherinformation using a lightweight computer data interchange format such asJAVASCRIPT OBJECT NOTATION (JSON), which is a text-based, human-readableformat for representing simple data structures and associative arrays.Further, communications between software components can use JSON. JSONis described in Request for Comments: 4627, Network Working Group,JSON.org, July 2006. The JSON format is often used for transmittingstructured data over a network connection in a process calledserialization. It can serve as an alternative to the use of the XMLformat to describe data formats. JSON is streamable across the Internetand is both a programming language and a structure for data, whereas XMLis a structure for data but not a programming language, and thereforehas to be converted into a target language. JSON does not need to beconverted because it is a programming language. However, XML is suitablein many cases. Although JSON was based on a subset of the JAVASCRIPTprogramming language (specifically, Standard ECMA-262 3rdEdition—December 1999) and is commonly used with that language, it isconsidered to be a language-independent data format. Code for parsingand generating JSON data is readily available for a large variety ofprogramming languages.

JSON is JAVASCRIPT code that represents a data structure. JSON canrepresent four primitive data types (strings, numbers, Booleans, andnull) and two structured types (objects and arrays). A string is asequence of zero or more Unicode characters. An object is an unorderedcollection of zero or more name/value pairs, where a name is a stringand a value is a string, number, Boolean, null, object, or array. Anarray is an ordered sequence of zero or more values, where the value canbe a JSON primitive or an object or array. An object is an unordered setof key:value pairs. The key is a string and the value, as with thearray, can be a JSON primitive, object, or array. Thus, JSON is suitablefor representing text data and meta data rather than binary data.

Many rich applications can use JSON or XML. For example, an emailapplication may have buttons or other devices that change dynamically,such as to provide a count of new email messages. Such dynamic featurescan be realized, e.g., using asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX),which is a group of interrelated web development techniques used forcreating interactive web applications or rich Internet applications.With AJAX, web applications can retrieve data from a serverasynchronously in the background without interfering with the displayand behavior of the existing page. The browser and web server maycommunicate using raw HTML or JSON.

To illustrate a process which can be performed in the computing systemsof FIGS. 1a, 1b and 1c , FIG. 1d is provided. FIG. 1d depicts ahigh-level flowchart of a process in which a manager selects anappropriate computing device to execute software in a computing systemwhich may be based on the first through third embodiments of FIGS. 1a-1c. The manager may be configured with hardware and/or software to managesoftware in the computing system, including managing movement andexecution of software and data based on one or more conditions.

Computing devices are typically manually configured with software suchas applications or other programs. For example, software can beinstalled in a computing device when it is manufactured, when it isinitially placed into service and/or after it has been in service. Theinstallation may be performed by a user or network administrator, forinstance. In some cases, the software requires access to a data storesuch as a database which may be local to the computing device, such asin a hard drive or semiconductor non-volatile memory of the computingdevice, or in another nearby computing device connected as a peripheral,for instance, via a network. Or, the data store can be remote from thecomputing device, such as at a database server across a network.Moreover, while a computing device includes some level of internalprocessing and storage resources, it may also access external processingand storage resources, such as in a virtual computing/storage network,in a technique referred to as cloud computing. Cloud computing allowsusers to access technology-enabled services from the Internet withoutnecessarily having knowledge of, expertise with, or control over thetechnology infrastructure that supports the services.

A virtual computing/storage network is typically a private network whichincludes a substantial amount of processing and storage resources whichcan be allocated as needed to a computing device outside the network,typically, but not always, via a web interface on the computing device.Data is permanently stored in servers in the virtual computing/storagenetwork and cached temporarily on a client computing device such as whenthe computing device requests access to the data.

In an example process for managing software, manager 140 receives arequest to execute a software process, at block 150. For example, therequest may be made by or from one of the computing devices. In onescenario, the software process is not currently being performed in thedistributed computing environment when the request is made. For example,the request may be made on behalf of a client browser. The clientbrowser may provide a request to a web server to “add an item toshopping cart” in an e-commerce application. In response, the web servermay communicate with the manager, informing the manager that the clienthas provided this request, but the web server does not know where toexecute it. In this case, the web server rather than the client isconfigured with software for contacting the manager. This software wouldbe specific to the implementation, but could include information such aswhere to locate the manager (such as an IP address), what protocol touse to contact the manager (such as TCP/IP) and what call to make to themanager. The call could provide a client identifier (such as IPaddress), client capabilities (such as operating system, types of mediasupported, browser version, presence or absence of securitycertificates, and whether client can run JavaScript or other script), anidentification of the software process which is requested (such asspecified by the URL used by the client to contact the web server), anda request to instruct the web server as to where the software processshould execute. The web server may obtain the client's information whenit connects to the web server. For instance, the HTTP “Accept”request-header field can be used by the client to specify certain mediatypes which are acceptable to the client.

At block 152, the manager identifies one or more candidate computingdevices. For example, the candidate computing devices may be deviceswhich are known to be accessible and currently available via a network,and which are authorized to execute the process. For instance, in aprivate network, the identity of each computing device, such as anidentifier and a network address of a network interface card of eachcomputing device, can be obtained by the manager by broadcasting arequest for the computing devices to identify themselves to the manager,e.g., in a network discovery process. The identity of a computing devicewhich makes the request to execute the software process, such as itsnetwork address, can similarly be provided to the manager as identifyinginformation in a communication to the manager according to variousnetwork communication protocols such as HTTP. A network address mayinclude a public or private Internet Protocol (IP) address, forinstance. It is also possible for the requesting computing device toidentify other computing devices to the manager. For instance, therequesting computing device may identify other computing devices withwhich it currently has a connection or previously had a connection, orwith which it has otherwise been in communication, such as via aconnectionless protocol. For instance, a client computing device mayidentify an associated server computing device, and a server computingdevice may identify an associated client computing device.

In a scenario where a client such as a browser provides a request to aserver, and the server provides a corresponding request to the manager,the request can identify the client, and the manager can identify theweb server via a Domain Name System (DNS) lookup. For example, the webserver may be behind a load balancer, in which case the manager canaccess a DNS server to communicate with any server behind the loadbalancer. Further, a database server which is in communication with theweb server may be identified via a configuration file or DNS lookup, forinstance.

Moreover, the manager could use a network directory service such asUniversal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) to locatecandidate computing devices to execute the software process. UDDI is aplatform-independent, XML-based registry for businesses to publishlistings and discover each other. A directory service can provide a listof client and their capabilities so that the manager can identifycandidate clients based on a specific needed capability.

At block 154, the manager evaluates the suitability of the candidatecomputing devices to execute the process based on one or moreconditions, or criteria, discussed further below. The suitability orappropriateness of a computing device to execute a process can be basedon various factors as detailed further below. These can include factorswhich do not change with time, such as the processing power of acomputing device, as well as factors which do change with time, such asthe current load on a computing device. The manager can obtaininformation for making this evaluation in various ways. For example, thecomputing devices may periodically report data to the manager viarespective agent processes at the computing devices, where the dataindicates the suitability of the computing devices to handle a process.Additionally, or alternatively, the manager may query the computingdevices to obtain the desired data. The manager may also obtain datafrom entities other than the candidate computing device to ascertain theabilities of the candidate devices. For example, a router in the sameprivate network as a candidate computing device database server couldreport on the available bandwidth in the network. The manager may assigna score to each computing device based on the evaluation. Block 154 isdetailed further below in connection with FIG. 2 a.

At block 156, the manager ranks the candidate computing devices based onthe evaluation, such as based on their score. At block 158, the managerselects one of the computing devices with the highest rank to executethe process. It is possible that more than one computing device can beselected if the process can be performed in portions (e.g., in parallelor serially). At block 160, manager 140 causes code of the softwareprocess to be moved to the selected computing device. For example, thismay involve the manager instructing one computing device to communicatethe code to the selected computing device, the manager itselfcommunicating the code to the selected computing device, or the managerinstructing the selected computing device to contact a computing deviceto request the code. Generally, the code can be at the requestingcomputing device, another candidate computing device, a non-candidatecomputing device, or the manager. The code can be stored in files andcommunicated using JSON or other network communication protocols.

One possible technique for moving code is to provide a URL to theselected computing device which it reads and uses to pull down the code.For example, to move code from a particular computing device to aselected computing device, the selected computing device can be providedwith a URL of the particular computing device or another computingdevice that can be used to initiate the transfer of the code. In thiscase, the URL can be communicated by the particular computing device,the manager or another entity. For example, if the code is hardwareplatform-independent script code such as JavaScript, the code can belocated at any URL, for example, http://codesource.com/js/jquery.js, andthe manager can send this URL to the selected computing device withinstructions to fetch the code by issuing an HTTP GET command to theURL. Block 160 is detailed further below in connection with FIG. 2 b.

The manager essentially tells the selected computer to prepare toexecute the software process. If the selected computer does not havecode of the software process, the manager instructs it to obtain thecode.

At block 162, the manager causes the code to be executed at the selectedcomputing device, such as via an appropriate instruction to the selectedcomputing device. Further, in the example implementation where themanager provides a URL to the selected computing device to obtain code,the code may include instructions to execute the software process. Inanother approach, the manager informs the requesting computing devicethat the selected computing device now has the code and is ready toexecute the software process. The manager may provide an address orother identifier of the selected computing device to the requestingcomputing device. The requesting computing device, in turn, instructsthe selected computing device to execute the software process. Themanager thus can decide where to run the software process, prepare theselected computing device, and facilitate communication between therequesting computing device and the selected computing device. Or, in abatch type of operation, the manager can instruct the selected computingdevice to execute the software process. After the selected computingdevice executes the software process, or while it executes the softwareprocess, it may report results to a designated location such as therequesting computing device or other location.

The process of FIG. 1d for managing software can be performedautomatically, without user intervention, e.g., so that it cancontinuously adapt to existing conditions in the network.

As an example, a program may include a software process, e.g., acomponent or module, which is invoked by a user at a browser, and whichrequires access to data at a data store at another computing device suchas a database server. The manager can determine whether it is preferablefor the data to be communicated from the data store to the browser,where the software process can run on the browser and access the datalocal to the browser, or for portable code of the software process to becommunicated to the data store, where it executes and accesses the datalocal to the data store, and perhaps reports a result to the browser. Amore detailed explanation of block 154 of the process of FIG. 1d isprovided next.

To illustrate details of block 154 of the process of FIG. 1d , FIG. 2ais provided. FIG. 2a depicts details of block 154 of FIG. 1d . Variousconditions can be considered by the manager 140 of FIGS. 1a-1c toevaluate the suitability of candidate computing devices to perform asoftware process. For example, FIG. 2a shows manager 140 providinginstructions as to where a software process should be executed based onone or more of response time, user demands, bandwidth, processorutilization, storage utilization, security considerations, compatibilityconsiderations and cost.

The response time is a time required by a computing device to respond toa test query from another computing device. For example, a particularcomputing device may periodically send a request to other computingdevices, calculate the elapsed time until a response is received, andreport the response time to the manager. The manager can store theresponse time for subsequent decision-making purposes. Or, the manageritself or another entity may send requests to the computing devices todetermine their response times.

A user demand metric can include a count of user requests which havebeen sent to a computing device in a specified time period. Such a countcan be maintained by the computing device or by an intermediary such asa gateway server which forwards such requests to the computing device.Bandwidth can represent, e.g., a data transfer rate based on the amountof data transferred to or from a computing device within a specifiedperiod. Processor resource utilization can be expressed as a percentageof CPU cycles which is utilized over a specified time period. Storageresource utilization can be expressed as a percentage of storageresources, e.g., hard drive or cache memory, which is utilized over aspecified time period.

The above-mentioned conditions can further be provided using statisticalmeasures such as an average, minimum, maximum, mean, standard deviationand so forth.

Security considerations can include information which indicates whethera computing device is trusted, whether a computing device is behind afirewall, whether a computing device uses a certain type of encryption,whether a computing device is in the public domain, and so forth. Themanager can be configured with such information manually or may obtainit automatically, e.g., without user intervention. For instance,password based security or certificate based security can be used. Withcertificate based security, for instance, a client computing device suchas a cell-phone based browser can contact a web server, and allow theweb server to place a certificate on the client computing device, withuser approval. When the client computing device again contacts the webserver, it communicates the certificate, so that the client computingdevice can be recognized as a trusted device. On the other hand, if aclient computing device is not recognized as being secure, it may not beconsidered as a candidate to execute secure code.

The manager can also rely on source IP address of a computing device todeduce firewall information (e.g., presence or absence of a firewall andtype of firewall). An identifier of a type of a computing device canalso provide security information. For instance, a computing devicewhich identifies itself as a cell phone, e.g., via a connect string, maybe treated as an unsecured device. Finer grained security informationcan be provided using a protocol such as Extensible Messaging andPresence Protocol (XMPP) to provide authentication and authorizationcapabilities. XMPP is an open, XML-inspired protocol originally aimed atnear-real-time, extensible instant messaging (IM) and presenceinformation (also known as buddy lists), but has been expanded into thebroader realm of message oriented middleware.

Compatibility considerations indicate whether a computing device iscompatible with a particular software process. For example, a certainhardware configuration, such as a processor speed and cache size, may berequired to run software. Similarly, a certain software configuration,including certain types and versions of software, such as an operatingsystem, may be required to run other software.

Cost can include a monetary cost to use a particular computing device.For example, in a virtual compute/storage network, CPU cycles andstorage resources may be charged in increments such as dollars peramount of CPUs used, dollars per amount of data transferred, and soforth.

When multiple conditions are considered, equal or unequal weights can begiven to the different conditions. Some conditions can be dispositive bythemselves. For example, a computing device which does not meet asecurity requirement may not be further considered as a candidate evenif it has available bandwidth. In another example, when candidatecomputing devices are ranked based on bandwidth, the one with the mostbandwidth may be selected.

To illustrate details of block 160 of the process of FIG. 1d , FIG. 2bis provided. FIG. 2b depicts details of block 160 of FIG. 1d . In themanager process to move code to a selected computing device, at decisionblock 210, in a first option, at block 212, the code for the requestedsoftware process is at the selected computing device, in which case themanager instructs the selected computing device to execute the softwareprocess using the local code. For example, a computing device whichprovides a request to execute a software process, and which has the codefor executing the software process, may itself be the selected computingdevice.

At decision block 210, in a second option, at block 214, code is notcurrently at the selected computing device, and the manager instruct acomputing device which has the code to move the code to the selectedcomputing device. This can be achieved using any available technique.For example, the manager can communicate a message to the computingdevice which includes an identifier of the selected computing device, anidentifier of the code, and instructions to move the code such as via anHTTP POST command.

At decision block 210, in a third option, at block 216, if code is notcurrently at the selected computing device, the manager instructs theselected computing device to obtain the code. For example, the managercan communicate a message to the selected computing device whichincludes an identifier of another computing device and an identifier ofthe code, and instructions to contact the computing device to obtain thecode. In a specific implementation, the manager can provide a URL to theselected computing device which can be used to access the code such asvia an HTTP GET command. In another possible approach, the manageritself has the code and provides it to the selected computing devicesuch as via an HTTP POST command.

The manager may also instruct the selected computing device to reportresults from executing the code to the unselected computing device, themanager, the requesting computing device or another entity. For example,the computing device which provides the request to execute the softwareprocess may execute a program, where the software process is a componentof the program. When the selected computing device executes the softwareprocess, the program can run in a distributed manner on the twocomputing devices. Further, a software component on the selectedcomputing device may communicate with one or more remaining componentsof the program on the other computing device. The different componentsmay execute in concert as part of a common context, for example,exchanging information as needed. Or, the code which is moved to theselected computing device can execute independently.

In the above discussion of FIGS. 1d and 2b , a manager-side process formanaging movement of code in a computing system was discussed. Themanaging can also be understood from the point of view of a managedcomputing device. Details of a computing device-side process for movingcode are discussed next in connection with FIG. 2 c.

FIG. 2c depicts a detailed flowchart of a computing device-side process,as a counterpart to the manager-side process of FIGS. 1d and 2b . Atblock 230, a particular computing device runs a program which includesinstructions to contact a manager to determine where to run a particularprocess of the program. A new or existing program may be configured withsuch instructions. Further, note that the instructions to contact themanager may be triggered by a communication from another computingdevice. For example, a web server may contact the manager in response toreceipt of a request from a browser with which the web server has aconnection. Instructions may be provided prior to executing a componentor module of a program which performs the process. At block 232, theparticular computing device executes the instructions to contact themanager, such as by establishing a connection with the manager. At block234, the particular computing device sends a request to execute theparticular process to the manager via the connection. At block 235, themanager responds to the request by selecting a computing device toexecute the process. Three possible options are discussed next.

In a first option, at block 236, the particular computing device isselected by the manager and receives instructions from the manager toexecute the software process using local code. In a second option, atblock 238, the particular computing device is selected by the managerand receives a URL from the manager for retrieving code. At block 240,the particular computing device retrieves the code using, e.g., an HTTPGET command to the URL and executes the code. Or, the particularcomputing device may retrieve the code and wait to receive instructionsto execute it.

In a third option, at block 242, another computing device is selected bythe manager and the particular computing device is instructed tocommunicate code to the another computing device. At block 244, theparticular computing device communicates the code to the anothercomputing device such as via an HTTP POST command and the anothercomputing device executes the code, or waits to receive instructions toexecute it.

In the above discussion of FIG. 1d , a focus was on a manager-sideprocess for moving code in a computing system. However, the movement ofdata can be managed as well, separately or together with the movement ofcode. To illustrate this, a manager-side process for moving data isdiscussed next in FIG. 2 d.

FIG. 2d depicts a high-level flowchart of a process in which a managerselects an appropriate computing device to execute software using datain a computing system which may be based on the first through thirdembodiments of FIGS. 1a -1 c.

As mentioned, movement of both code and data can be managed. A processfor moving data can be performed alone or with a process for movingcode. For example, a software process may need to access data in a datastore such as a data base, date file, or the like. A database may beaccessed for various reasons. In some cases, a client computing deviceis involved in accessing data, such as to perform a process whichinvolves manipulating the data. For example, an application used by abusiness might need to access salary information and job descriptions ofemployees in a database to prepare a report of average salary per jobtype. In one approach, code for performing the process is moved from theclient computing device to a database server, for instance, where itexecutes to obtain the salary and job type for each employee, calculatethe average salary per job type, and report that summary result back tothe client computing device. However, in some cases it may be preferableto move the data to the code which performs the processing, or closer tosuch code, such as when the code which performs the processing consumesa large amount of processing and storage resources, or when it is notadvisable to move the code to the database server because the databaseserver does not meet security conditions. Although, more typically, adatabase server is secure while a client is not secure. In other cases,data at a database or other data store can be accessed without clientinvolvement, such as by a process which updates data, performs garbagecollection, obtains statistics about the data, and so forth.

The manager receives a request to execute a software process whichinvolves accessing data, at block 250. The request may identify data tobe accessed, such as by a URL or other network identifier. At block 252,the manager identifies one or more candidate computing devices, asdiscussed previously. At block 254, the manager evaluates thesuitability of the candidate computing devices to execute the processusing the data based on one or more conditions, as discussed previously.At block 256, the manager ranks the candidate computing devices based onthe evaluation, such as based on a score. At block 258, the managerselects one of the computing devices with the highest rank to executethe process using the data. At block 260, the manager causes data, andoptionally code for the process, to be moved local to the selectedcomputing device. At block 262, the manager causes the process to beexecuted using the data which is local to the selected computing device.The process of FIG. 2d can be performed automatically, without userintervention.

To illustrate details of block 260 of the process of FIG. 2d , FIG. 2eis provided.

FIG. 2e depicts details of block 260 of FIG. 2d . In the manager processto cause data to be moved local to a selected computing device, atdecision block 270, a determination is made as to whether data for arequested process is at the selected computing device. In a firstoption, decision block 270 is true, and the manager instructs theselected computing device to execute the software process using thelocally accessible data, at block 272. If decision block 270 is false,in a second option, the manager instructs a computing device which hasthe data to move the data to the selected computing device, at block274, such as via an HTTP POST command. If decision block 270 is false,in a third option, the manager instructs the selected computing deviceto obtain the data, at block 276, such as via an HTTP GET command.

In the above discussion of FIGS. 2d and 2e , a manager-side process formanaging movement of data was discussed. The managing can also beunderstood from the point of view of a managed computing device. Detailsof a related computing device-side process for moving data are discussednext in connection with FIG. 2 f.

FIG. 2f depicts a detailed flowchart of computing device-side process,as a counterpart to the manager-side process of FIGS. 2d and 2e . Atblock 280, a particular computing device runs a program, which includesinstructions to contact a manager to determine where to run a particularprocess of the program. Note that the instructions to contact themanager may be triggered by a communication from another computingdevice. At block 282, the particular computing device executes theinstructions to contact the manager, including establishing a connectionwith the manager. At block 284, the particular computing device sends arequest to execute the particular process to the manager via theconnection. The request may identify data to be accessed. At block 286,the manager responds to the request by selecting a computing device.Next, three options are depicted.

In a first option, at block 288, the particular computing device isselected by the manager, and the particular computing device receivesinstructions from the manager to execute the software process using datawhich is local to the particular computing device. In a second option,at block 290, the particular computing device is selected by the managerand receives a URL from the manager for retrieving the data. In a thirdoption, at block 294, another computing device is selected by themanager and the particular computing device is instructed by the managerto communicate the data to the another computing device. At block 296,the particular computing device communicates the data to the anothercomputing device, and the another computing device executes the softwareprocess using the local code and the locally accessible data.

The above discussion has involved different general concepts ofautomatically moving code and data in a computing system, from thepoints of view of a managing process and a managed computing device.Next, more concrete examples of moving code and data components inspecific scenarios are discussed in FIGS. 3a and 3b as illustrations ofthe general concepts.

FIGS. 3a and 3b provide a specific example based on FIG. 1a , showingthe movement of code and data between computing devices. FIGS. 3c and 3dare related flowcharts.

Specifically, FIG. 3a depicts a system diagram of a fourth embodiment,which is based on the computing system of FIG. 1a , in which code isobtained by a second computing device under the control of a manager.Computing Device A 100 includes processing resources 310, storageresources 312, code 314, an agent process 316 and a network interface318. Computing Device B 110 similarly includes processing resources 320,storage resources 322, code 324, an agent process 328 and a networkinterface 330. Process 326 is initially not present at Computing DeviceB. Computing Device C 120 includes processing resources 340, storageresources 342, code 344, an agent process 346 and a network interface348. The manager 140 includes processing resources 350, storageresources 352, evaluation and selection logic 354 and a networkinterface 356.

The processing resources may include one or more central processingunits (CPUs) or processors in each computing device, while the storageresources may include resources such as hard drives and cache memory.The agent processes run on the respective computing devices to gatherand report information to the manager regarding an suitability of therespective computing devices to execute a process and/or store datawhich is accessed by a process. The network interfaces may includenetwork interface cards which allow network communications to takeplace.

Refer also to FIG. 3c , which depicts a flowchart of a process involvingmovement of code which corresponds to the computing system of FIG. 3 a.

In this example, code 314 at Computing Device A 100 communicates arequest to execute a process 326 to Computing Device B (block 360). Theprocess 326 is initially not present at Computing Device B, asmentioned. In response to the request, Computing Device B executes itscode 324 which includes instructions to provide a corresponding requestto the manager 140 (block 362). In response to the request, the manageruses the evaluation and selection logic 354 to evaluate the suitabilityof computer devices A, B and C to execute the process (block 364), andselects Computing Device B 110 to execute the process (block 366), forinstance. The manager then provides a URL to Computing Device B (block368). In response, Computing Device B uses the URL to download a copy ofthe code 326 for the process from Computing Device C (block 370), whereit is stored. The URL identifies the code for the process at ComputingDevice C. Generally, a particular computing device can retain a copy ofcode which it sends to another computing device so that the retainedcopy can be subsequently accessed or executed at the particularcomputing device. Computing device B executes code for process 326 atblock 372.

In a further alternative, code for the process 326 can call additionalcode from Computing Device C or another computing device when the codeexecutes. Generally, any executing code can call other code to beexecuted on the calling computing machine. For example, the code caninclude script instructions such as JAVASCRIPT (ECMA-262) which callsother script code on demand. When code for the process 326 is loaded atComputing Device B, the process can communicate with the manager 140 todetermine if there is additional code that the process should call. Themanager can respond, e.g., by providing an identifier of the additionalcode, such as another URL. The code for the process 326 could use theURL to contact a computing device to load and execute the additionalcode.

In another option, executing code can create additional code. Forexample, JavaScript has meta-programming capabilities, and can useanonymous functions to create functions during run time. This allowsadditional functionalities to be created easily based upon specificinputs. JavaScript can also create JavaScript statements as data andexecute them using the eval( ) function.

FIG. 3b depicts a system diagram of a fifth embodiment, which is basedon the computing system of FIG. 1a , in which data is obtained by asecond computing device under the control of a manager. As mentioned,the manager 140 can manage both code and data in a computing system. Insome cases, it is advantageous to move data to a computing device whichhas code so that the code can access the data locally. In this example,data is initially at Computing Device A.

Refer also to FIG. 3d , which depicts a flowchart of a process involvingmovement of data which corresponds to the computing system of FIG. 3 b.

Code 324 at Computing Device B makes a request to the manager 140 toexecute a process, where the request identifies the data as beingrequired by the process (block 380). In response, the manager uses theevaluation and selection logic 354 to evaluate the suitability ofComputer devices A, B and C to execute the process using the data (block382), and selects Computing Device B 110 (block 384). The managerprovides a URL to Computing Device B for accessing the data (block 386).Computing device B uses the URL to download the data 327 from ComputingDevice A (block 388) and Computing Device B executes the process usingthe data (block 390). Optionally, once execution of the process iscompleted, code for the process can be deleted. As before, note that itis possible for a particular computing device to retain a copy of datawhich it sends to another computing device so that the retained data canbe accessed at the particular computing device as well as at anothercomputing device.

The above discussion has illustrated moving specific code and datacomponents in a computing system. However, the code and data componentswere not explained as being part of a specific program or application.To provide a further illustration, examples are presented next in FIGS.4a and 4b involving moving code which is part of an application whichinvolves accessing a database.

FIGS. 4a and 4b provide another specific example, showing code whichaccesses a database, and the movement of code between computing devices.FIG. 4c is a related flowchart.

Specifically, FIG. 4a depicts a system diagram of a sixth embodiment ofa computing system in which software components for processing data froma database are moved between computing devices. This example involves ahost 400 which has a program 402, including a data aggregating component404, a data analysis component 406, and a visual output component 408.The program 402 requires access to a data store such as a database 446which is at a database server 440. A program may need to access adatabase for various reasons, such as to update the database with newdata or to obtain data from the database. As mentioned previously, insome cases, a program which accesses a database does not necessarilyinvolve a client computing device. Such a program can perform garbagecollection, obtain statistics about the data, and so forth. In othercases, a program which accesses a database does involve a clientcomputing device. For example, a client program may access data toprovide a report to a user of the client program. In one exampleimplementation, a client program is used by a business to access adatabase which has employee related data, such as salary and job type,to prepare a report which indicates average salary per job type overtime, for instance.

In this example, the data aggregating component 404 may obtain all thesalary and job type data for each employee and provide aggregated orsummary data such as average salary per job type for each month of theyear. The data analysis component 406 may process the aggregated data,such as to provide statistical measures, e.g., average change in salary,and standard deviation of salary distributions over the employeepopulation. The output of the data analysis component 406, referred toas analyzed data, may be provided to a visual output component 408 suchas to provide charts, graphs and other visual output to a user interface410, e.g., which includes a screen and user input/output devices such asa keyboard and pointing device.

The database server 440 initially includes a database access component444 which is used to access data from the database 446, e.g., usingappropriate low level commands such as Structured Query Language (SQL)commands. A network 420 allows the host 400 and the database server 440to communicate. Additionally, a manager 425 and a web server 430 may beprovided. The host 400 may connect to the database server 440 and/ormanager 425 directly or via the web server 430, for instance.

The program 402 makes a request to execute the data aggregatingcomponent 404. This request may be made to the web server 430 via anHTTP connection which has been established between the host 400 and theweb server 430, for instance. The web server 430 provides acorresponding request to the manager 425 to ask it where the dataaggregating component 404 should be executed. The manager evaluates therequest and determines that the database server 440 should execute thedata aggregating component 404. The manager 425 instructs the databaseserver to obtain a copy of the data aggregating component 442 from thehost. Or, the manager 425 can instruct the web server to obtain a copyof the data aggregating component 442 from the host 400 and provide itto the database server 440. Typically, the host and the database servercommunicate via the web server. The host 400 can use an HTTP POSTcommand to the web server 430 to provide the component. Further, thedata aggregating component 404 may include instructions for reporting aresult of the aggregating, such as aggregated data, back to the program402 at the host 400 or to another location.

An example of a JSON format for reporting the results is as follows.Assume the results from the database include average salary per jobtype, for each of last three years. {“year1”:{“job type 1”:“50k”, “jobtype 2”:“60k”, “job type 3”:“70k”}, “year2”:{“job type 1”:“52k”, “jobtype 2”:“65k”, “job type 3”:“78k”}, “year3”:{“job type 1”:“54k”, “jobtype 2”:“67k”, “job type 3”:“82k”}}.

Executing the data aggregating component 442 at the database server 440can be advantageous as it avoids the need to communicate raw data fromthe database to the host 400 for access at the host. In particular, whenvery large amounts of data are stored in one or more databases or otherdata stores, moving the code to the data rather than moving the data tothe code can significantly reduce processing time.

Moreover, the code which requires access to data can be moved to acomputing device which is local to the data, including on the samecomputing device which stores the data, or another computing device. Forexample, in FIG. 4a , the database server 440 stores the data and islocal to the data. However, the web server 430 or some other computingdevice may have access to the database server 440 and the data in thedatabase 446. For instance, the web server 430 may be in the sameprivate network as the database server or otherwise be local to thedatabase server 440, for instance, such that communication between theweb server and the database server is expedient. A component such as thedata aggregating component 442 could thus be moved from the host 400 tothe web server 430, where it executes and accesses the database 446.Data transfer from the database 446 to the web server 430 is alsopossible, such as when there is sufficient network bandwidth.

The program 402 is considered to be broken apart or stretched, as if iswas elastic, and its components distributed and executed at differentlocations based on business needs and infrastructure availability. Thisdistribution can take place before or during a runtime of the program402. Moreover, the program does not need to know where each of itscomponents is as long as the individual components communicate with oneanother as needed.

FIG. 4b depicts a system diagram of a seventh embodiment of a computingsystem in which software components for processing data from a databaseare moved between computing devices, as an alternative to FIG. 4a . Inthis scenario, the database server 440 is behind a firewall 435 andtherefore has a higher level of security. Due to this higher level ofsecurity, the manager 425 may decide that the database server shouldexecute both the data aggregating component and the data analysiscomponent. The manager thus instructs the database server to obtain acopy of the data aggregating component 442 and a copy of the dataanalysis component 448 from the host. For instance, there may be abusiness reason to avoid moving the database analysis component 448 to anon-secure location. The database analysis component 448 might haveproprietary information which could be obtained by unauthorized means,or may be subject to attacks if it were not run behind the firewall 435.The database analysis component 448 is an example of a separablecomponent of business logic that can run in a specified location basedon security considerations.

On the other hand, the host 400 could be behind a firewall (not shown),in which case it may be desired to keep a sensitive component such asthe data analysis component 406, for instance, at the host 400 forsecurity reasons.

Generally, different portions of a program can be separated out so thatthey can run in different locations based on various conditions.Regarding the example of security considerations, it may be desired toprevent certain software components from executing in the public domain.For example, it may be desired to separate out business logic componentsand run them in a secure location such as behind a firewall. On theother hand, it may be acceptable for components which provide a visualaspect, for instance, to run in the public domain. In one approach, oneor more components which provide a core processing state can be providedon a secure side of a firewall while other components are deployedbeyond the firewall to process some information that is located in adatabase, and report results back to the core processing state.

FIG. 4c depicts a flowchart of a process for managing movement andexecution of software components which corresponds to the computingsystems of FIGS. 4a and 4b . Block 450 includes initial deployment ofsoftware at the host 400, such as the program 402 which includes thedata aggregating component 402, the data analysis component 406 and thevisual output component 408. Block 452 includes initial deployment ofsoftware at the database server 440, including the database accesscomponent 444. In one approach, initial deployment of software can bemade manually based on user commands. However, it is also possible toautomate the initial deployment of the software. At block 454, the host400 provides a request to the manager 425 to execute the dataaggregating component 404 and the data analysis component 406. In thisexample, two options follow.

In one option, at block 456, the manager 425 evaluates the suitabilityof the host 400 and the database server 440 to execute the components.It selects the database server 440 to execute the data aggregatingcomponent 404, and the host 400 to execute the data analysis component406. This decision may be based on various conditions, as mentionedpreviously. At block 458, the manager instructs the database server toobtain the data aggregating component 442 from the host, and to reportresults to the host and/or to another computing device. At block 460,the database server obtains the data aggregating component from thehost. At block 462, the database server executes the data aggregatingcomponent to provide aggregated data, and communicates the aggregateddata to the host as a result. Optionally, once execution of the dataaggregating component is completed, code for the component can bedeleted. At block 464, the host executes the data analysis component 406using the aggregated data to provide analyzed data. At block 466, thehost executes the visual output component using the analyzed data toprovide a display on the user interface 410.

In a second option which follows from block 454, at block 468, themanager 425 evaluates the suitability of the host 400 and the databaseserver 440 to execute the components, and selects the database server440 to execute both of these components. At block 470, the managerinstructs the database server to obtain a copy of the data aggregatingcomponent 442 and a copy of the data analysis component from the host,and to report results to the host and/or to another computing device. Atblock 472, the database server obtains the components from the host. Atblock 474, the database server executes the data aggregating componentto provide aggregated data, and, at block 476, executes the dataanalysis component using the aggregated data to provide analyzed data.Optionally, once execution of the data aggregating and data analysiscomponents is completed, code for the components can be deleted. Atblock 478, the database server communicates the analyzed data to thehost as a result. At block 480, the host executes the visual outputcomponent using the analyzed data to provide a display on the userinterface 410.

The above discussion has illustrated moving code of a specificapplication. However, the code was not explained as being in a virtualcompute/storage network. To provide a further illustration, examples arepresented next in FIGS. 5a and 5b in which code is moved in a virtualcompute/storage network.

FIGS. 5a and 5b provide another specific example, showing theredistribution of code in a virtual compute/storage network. FIG. 5c isa related flowchart.

Specifically, FIG. 5a depicts a system diagram of an eighth embodimentof a computing system in which a virtual compute/storage network has afirst distribution of software components. A virtual computing/storagenetwork can include a substantial amount of processing and storageresources which can be allocated as needed, in a transparent manner, asa service to a computing device outside the network, typically, but notalways, via a web interface on the computing device. Data is permanentlystored in servers in the virtual computing/storage network and cachedtemporarily on a client computing device such as when the computingdevice requests access to the data. Such networks allow resources to bequickly reallocated to respond to business demands. For example, ane-commerce retailer may request a first distribution of software tohandle purchases which are made by users for different products. Basedon sales or other factors, such as demographics and geographic locationof customers, the retailer may wish to implement different businessrules such as promotions, discounts, and offers, as well as modify itsbusiness rules to conform to local laws of the customers. For instance,a new product may be placed on sale which results in a large volume ofuser traffic to review and purchase the product. In this case, it isimportant to quickly provision additional computing devices withsoftware for handling the load to avoid inconveniencing the user withdelays and losing sales. Such software can include, e.g., a checkoutcomponent or a payment processing component. In another example, tostimulate sales, it may be desired to provision computing devices withbusiness logic with software which implements cross-selling andupselling schemes.

In this example, Host A 500, Host B 520 and Host C 540 are three examplehosts in a virtual compute/storage network 505 which includes a networkcommunication medium or cloud 560. A Gateway Host E 562 is also providedwhich assigns the hosts to handle incoming requests. Host A 500 includesprocessing resources 502, storage resources 504, software 506, includinga first type of business logic referred to as front end business logicBL1 508, an agent 510 and a network interface 512. Front end businesslogic is generally user-facing logic. Similarly, Host B 520 includesprocessing resources 522, storage resources 524, software 526, includinganother copy of the front end business logic BL1 528, an agent 530 and anetwork interface 532. Host C 540 includes processing resources 542,storage resources 544, software 546, including a second type of businesslogic referred to as front end business logic BL2 548, an agent 550 anda network interface 552. Gateway Host E 562 includes a manager 564,software 566, including a copy of the front end business logic BL1 568and a copy of the front end business logic BL2 570, and a networkinterface 572. Gateway Host E 562 also includes its own processing andstorage resources, not shown, but they are not allocated to entitiesoutside the network 505. Further, the copies of the front end businesslogic BL1 568 and BL2 570 are stored but not executed at the GatewayHost E 562, in one possible approach.

Outside the virtual compute/storage network 505, a Host D 576 includessoftware 578, including a back end business logic component 580 whichworks with the front end business logic components BL1 and BL2. Forexample, the back end business logic component 580 may store data fromthe front end business logic components BL1 and BL2 for accounting andother purposes. One or more web servers 582 and user hosts 584 are alsodepicted. The user hosts 584 may access the virtual compute/storagenetwork 505 via the one or more web servers 582 and the Gateway Host E562, such as to purchase an item, for instance. One or more of the HostsA, B and C are assigned to handle a transaction. A network medium 574allows the Host D 576, one or more web servers 582, user hosts 584 andGateway Host E 562 to communicate.

An example scenario for redistributing the software components among theHosts A, B and C is as follows. Assume that Host C 540 experiencesincreasing traffic related to the front end business logic component BL2548, and provides this information to the manager 564. For example, thetraffic at Host C 540 may exceed a threshold. The manager 564 canrespond by moving a copy of the front end business logic component BL2534 to Host B, for example, as depicted in FIG. 5b , based on adetermination that Host B has excess capacity, if its utilization isbelow a threshold. FIG. 5b depicts a system diagram of the computingsystem of FIG. 5a in which the virtual compute/storage network has asecond distribution of software components. The front end business logiccomponent BL1 528 at Host B may continue to execute or may beterminated. In another example, Host B may be a computing device whichis newly made available via a network and does not run any businesslogic component before BL2 534 is provided to it.

A single instance or multiple instances of a component may execute inone or more threads. Also, while movement or reallocation of softwarewithin a virtual compute/storage network is depicted, it is alsopossible to move software between multiple virtual compute/storagenetworks, or between a virtual compute/storage network and an entityoutside the virtual compute/storage network. For instance, a firstvirtual compute/storage network in a first geographic location such asLondon which handles user requests in that location can be reallocatedto augment the capabilities of a second virtual compute/storage networkin a second geographic location such as Sydney which handles userrequests in that location. The techniques provided herein allowadditional computing devices to be provisioned with software as demandgrows, or to be decommissioned by removing software as demand falls,based on current, continuously updated assessments of user demand andmarket conditions. Business logic can thus be redistributed based on asbusiness demands.

In another option, code which represents the front end business logiccomponent BL2, for instance, could be created by a user at Host D 576,for instance, via a browser. For example, the code could be createdusing JAVASCRIPT and sent to the virtual compute/storage network 505 viathe web server 582 and the Gateway Host E 562. The Gateway Host E 562may be considered to be a centralized server which distributes the codeto a computing device in the virtual compute/storage network 505 atwhich it is needed. Further details regarding redistribution of thesoftware components are discussed next.

FIG. 5c depicts a flowchart of a process for managing movement andexecution of software components, corresponding to the computing systemsof FIGS. 5a and 5b . At block 590, initial deployment of software occursfor Hosts A, B, C and E in the virtual computer/storage network,including deployment of front-end business logic component BL1 at hostsA and B, and front-end business logic component BL2 at Host C. GatewayHost E may also store copies of the front-end business logic componentBL1 and BL2. At block 591, initial deployment of software at Host D,including the backend business logic component, occurs. At block 592,the manager in the virtual computer/storage network senses hostparameters, such as response time, user demands, bandwidth, processorutilization, storage utilization, security considerations, compatibilityconsiderations and cost. At decision block 593, a determination is madeas to whether one or more redeployment conditions are met. For example,this may include one or more of the host parameters crossing a thresholdvalue. For instance, the manager may determine that a processorutilization of Host C has exceeded a threshold, indicating that Host Cis becoming overloaded with user requests. Or, Host C may make thisdetermination itself. The manager may also determine that Host B has arelatively low processor utilization, e.g., below a threshold, and istherefore able to handle part of the load of Host C.

Block 594 includes redeploying one or more software components, such asby deploying a copy of the front-end business logic component BL1 534 toHost B. Block 595 includes the manager at the Gateway Host E instructingHost B to obtain a copy of the front-end business logic component BL2534 from Host C. In another possible approach, the manager couldinstruct Host C to distribute the copy of the front-end business logiccomponent BL2 534 to Host B. At block 596, Host B obtains component BL2and, at block 597, Host B begins executing component BL2.

Generally, components of a program can be moved at different points intime and to different computing machines based on current needs of acomputing system. Thus, there is no need to move software to a computingsystem and store it there before it is needed. Moreover, once softwareis no longer needed at a computing system, it can be deleted and leftfor a garbage collection process.

The above discussions have illustrated moving code in a databaseaccessing application and in a virtual compute/storage network. However,these examples did not explain moving both code and data in a specificapplication such as an image processing application. To provide afurther illustration, examples are presented next in FIGS. 6a and 6b inwhich code and data are moved in an image processing application.

FIGS. 6a and 6b provide another specific example, showing the movementof code and data in an image processing application. FIGS. 6c-6e arerelated flowcharts.

Specifically, FIG. 6a depicts a system diagram of a ninth embodiment, inwhich a computing system has an example first distribution of imageprocessing components and image data at a user host, web server anddatabase server. In this example, a user interface 640 communicates witha user host 642, which includes software 644, including a browser 646,image data 648, such as digital photos and/or videos, an agent 650 and anetwork interface 652. A web server 620 may provide a web site whichallows users to upload images to be stored, shared with other usersand/or to order prints, DVDs or other items, for instance. The webserver 620 includes software 622, including an image processingcomponent 624, an agent 626 and a network interface 628. Further, adatabase server 600 may communicate with the web server 620 such as tostore and retrieve image data. The database server 600 includes software602, including a database access component 604, a database 606, an agent608 and a network interface 610. A manager 630 is also provided tomanage the movement and execution of software in the computing systemvia a network medium 632.

In an example scenario, a user at the user host 642 seeks to process theimage data 648 such as to change the format of the data. The imageprocessing component 624, which is initially at the web server 620, isneeded to change the format, e.g., by performing cropping,recompression, rotation or other operations. Various options arepossible regarding movement of code and data to perform this task.

FIG. 6b depicts a system diagram of the computing system of FIG. 6a ,showing an example second distribution of image processing componentsand image data at a user host, web server and database server. Oneoption is to send a copy of the image data 629 from the user host to theweb server, and to execute the image processing component 624 using thelocal copy of the image data 629 at the web server. Another option is tosend a copy of the image processing component 654 from the web server tothe user host, and to execute the image processing component 654 usingthe local copy of the image data 648 at the user host. Yet anotheroption is to send a copy of the image processing component 612 from theweb server to the database server 600, and to send a copy of the imagedata 614 from the user host to the database server, either directly orvia the web server, and to execute the image processing component 612using the local copy of the image data 614 at the database server. Thedetermination of where to move and execute the software and data can bemade by the manager 630 based on one or more conditions as discussedpreviously.

For example, if the processing of the image data, e.g., to change itsformat, results in a significantly smaller amount of data, it may bedesirable to execute the image processing component at the user host 642so that the amount of data to subsequently upload to the web server 620is reduced. Another factor can be a response time between the user hostand the web server. The user host can send a test request message to theweb server, calculate the time to receive a response, and provide theresult to the manager 630. If the response time is slow, this also tendsto indicate that processing should be performed at the user host. Also,if the user host has a low CPU utilization and the web server has a highutilization, this also tends to indicate that the image processingcomponent should be executed at the user host, e.g., at the browser 646.Moving processing tasks to the user host 642 can be advantageous as itsprocessing resources are often under utilized while a web server isoften kept very busy, sometimes due to a small number of high volumeusers.

On the other hand, if the user host has a high CPU utilization and theweb server has a lower utilization, it may be desired to move the imagedata to the web server and execute the image processing component at theweb server. Or, if the user host and the web server both have a high CPUutilization and the database server has a lower utilization, it may bedesired to move the image data and the image processing component to thedatabase server for execution there. Or, security considerations mayprevent moving the image processing component to the host, in which casethe candidate computing devices for running the image processingcomponent are the web server and the database server, but not the host.Some of the different scenarios are discussed in further detail below.

Note that if the image processing component 624 was initially present atthe user host 642, a different scenario could occur. For instance, inresponse to a corresponding command by the user, the agent 650 couldcontact the manager 630 to determine if the processing should occurlocally or elsewhere such as at the web server 620. If the managerdecided that the processing should occur locally at the host 642, itwould instruct the host to perform the processing using the imageprocessing component. If the manager decided that the processing shouldoccur locally at the web server 620, it would instruct the host 642 tocommunicate the data to the web server so that the processing using theimage processing component occurs at the web server. If the managerdecided that the processing should occur at the database server 600, itwould instruct the host 642 to communicate the data to the databaseserver 600 typically via the web server 620 so that the processing usingthe image processing component occurs at the database server.

FIG. 6c depicts a flowchart of a process for managing movement andexecution of image processing components and image data, correspondingto a first distribution of components in the computing systems of FIGS.6a and 6b . Initially, software is deployed at the user host, includinga browser. Software is also deployed at the web server, including theimage processing component and at the database server, including thedatabase access component.

At block 660, the user provides a request to perform the imageprocessing task to the manager. At block 661, the manager selects theuser host to perform the image processing task. At block 662, themanager instructs the host to download a copy of the image processingcomponent from the web server, such as by providing a URL to the host.At block 663, the host downloads the image processing component from theweb server. At block 664, the image processing component executes at theuser host on the local image data to provide processed image data.Optionally, once execution of the component is completed, code for thecomponent can be deleted. At block 665, the user host uploads theprocessed image data to the web server. At block 666, the web serversends the processed image data to the database server and, at block 667,the database server stores the processed image data.

FIG. 6d depicts a flowchart of a process for managing movement andexecution of image processing components and image data, correspondingto a second distribution of components in the computing systems of FIGS.6a and 6b . At block 670, the user provides a request to perform theimage processing task to the manager. At block 671, the manager selectsthe web server to perform the image processing task. For instance, theuser host may be a cell phone or other portable computing device withlimited processing and storage resources, which access the network 632via a relatively low bandwidth connection, in which case moving theimage processing component to the cell phone and executing it there maybe undesirable compared to other options. This approach advantageouslyallows the user of the cell phone or other computing device to accessthe image processing functions which it could not otherwise access. Theimage processing functions are accessed via another computing devicewhich is more suited to the task.

At block 672, the manager instructs the user host to upload theunprocessed image data to the web server. At block 673, the imageprocessing component executes at the web server on the local image datato provide processed image data. At block 674, the web server sends theprocessed image data to the database server and, at block 675, thedatabase server stores the processed image data.

FIG. 6e depicts a flowchart of a process for managing movement andexecution of image processing components and image data, correspondingto a third distribution of components in the computing systems of FIGS.6a and 6b . At block 680, the user provides a request to perform theimage processing task to the manager. At block 681, the manager selectsthe database server to perform the image processing task. At block 682,the manager instructs the web server to provide the image processingcomponent to the database server. At block 683, the manager instructsthe user host to upload the unprocessed image data to the web server. Atblock 684, the manager instructs the web server to provide theunprocessed image data to the database server. At block 685, the imageprocessing component executes at the database server on the local imagedata to provide processed image data. Optionally, once execution of thecomponent is completed, code for the component can be deleted. At block686, the database server stores the processed image data.

The above discussions have illustrated moving code in a databaseaccessing application and in a virtual compute/storage network, andmoving code and data in an image processing application. However, theexamples did not explain moving code in an email application. To providea further illustration, examples are presented next in FIGS. 7a and 7bin which code is moved in an email application.

FIGS. 7a and 7b provide another specific example, showing the movementof code in an email application.

FIG. 7a depicts a system diagram of a seventh embodiment, in which acomputing system has a user host with an email client. A user host 702,such as an email/web enabled cell phone, includes a browser 704,including an email client 706, an agent 708 and a network interface 710.An email server 720 includes software 722, including an email statuscomponent 724, an email database 726, an agent 728 and a networkinterface 730. The user host 702 communicates with the email server 720via a web server 735 and a network 712, for instance. A manager 740 isalso provided behind the web server 735, relative to the browser 702, inone possible approach. The email client 706 can be used to obtain datafrom the email server 720 for displaying a list of emails on the userinterface 700, for instance. The email client 706 can display statusinformation, such as the number of new emails, whether an email is froma contact, and so forth, which is provided by the email status component724.

FIG. 7b depicts a system diagram of the computing system of FIG. 7a , inwhich a user host has an email client and an email status component, asan alternative to FIG. 7a . In one possible implementation, the emailclient 706 contacts the web server 735 when the email client is launchedand provides compatibility data of the user host 702 and the browser704. The web server, in turn, provides the data to the manager 740. Forexample, this may include a type of the user host and a type and versionof the browser. Generally, when a web browser sends an HTTP request toan HTTP server, the client can identify itself using a User-Agent stringsuch as:

User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.01; Windows 98; YComp5.0.0.0).

The manager 740 can examine the string and determine what software thebrowser can run. This string indicates that the browser is MOZILLAversion 4.0, and that it is compatible with MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER(MSIE) version 5.01, MICROSOFT WINDOWS 98, and YAHOO! companion (YComp)software for MSIE.

The manager 740 can maintain information regarding which softwarefunctions are supported on which browsers, for instance. The manager 740can then determine if certain functions can be moved to the user host702. For example, the manager 740 may determine that a copy of the emailstatus component 707 can be provided to the user host 702, in which casethe manager instructs the email server 720 to communicate the copy ofthe email status component 707 to the user host 702, or provide the userhost 702 with information for contacting the email server 720 to obtainthe copy of the email status component. When the email client 706 opensa list of emails, for example, the email status component 707 canexecute and perform a task such as determining whether each email isnew, and incrementing a counter of new emails accordingly. For example,each email may have a status identifier which indicates whether it isnew, i.e., it has not been opened and read by the user. The email statuscomponent 707 can filter on the number of new emails and display theresult on the user interface 700. This is a simple aggregation functionof counting the number of new emails which can run at the user host. Itcan use a command which is similar to the SQL command COUNT(*), whichreturns the number of items in a group.

Accordingly, it can be seen that the techniques presented herein allowfor optimal deployment of software and data in a computing system basedon current conditions in the computing system, including currentcapabilities of different computing devices. Initial and subsequentdeployments can be made based on an automatic assessment of a number ofconditions. In one aspect, a manager receives a request to perform asoftware process which is not currently being performed, andautomatically determines a computing device to execute the softwareprocess. The manager orchestrates moving code to the computing device toperform the software process, and initiates execution of the code. Themanager can also manage the deployment of multiple components of asoftware process so that the components execute at different computingdevices and communicate with one another.

The functionality described herein can be accomplished using hardware,software or a combination of both hardware and software. The softwarecan be stored on one or more processor readable storage devices such ashard disk drives, CD-ROMs, DVDs, optical disks, floppy disks, tapedrives, RAM, ROM, flash memory or other suitable storage device(s). Inalternative embodiments, some or all of the software can be replaced bydedicated hardware including custom integrated circuits, gate arrays,FPGAs, PLDs, and special purpose processors. In one embodiment, software(stored on a storage device) implementing one or more embodiments isused to program one or more processors. The one or more processors canbe in communication with one or more storage devices, peripherals and/orcommunication interfaces.

The foregoing detailed description of the invention has been presentedfor purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteaching. The described embodiments were chosen to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical application, to therebyenable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention invarious embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of theinvention be defined by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: at least one processor; andmemory including instructions that, upon being executed by the at leastone processor, cause the system to: obtain a request to perform aprocess requiring server resources; determine a trigger associated withthe request; determine a function comprising code and responsive to thetrigger, the function for processing data associated with the trigger;determine a computing device from a plurality of candidate computingdevices to execute the function based at least in part upon thecomputing device having security characteristics that are devoid ofrequirements for user intervention to execute the function; send secondinstructions to the computing device to cause the data to be obtained bythe computing device from a remote data store using a network location;cause the computing device to execute the code to perform the processusing the data and to satisfy a performance threshold monitored for theprocess performed on the computing device; and cause the code to bedeployed to a second computing device of the plurality of candidatecomputing devices having the security characteristics in response tochanges to performance of the process relative to the performancethreshold so that the second computing device performs the process. 2.The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions upon being executedfurther cause the system to: determine a second function comprisingsecond code and responsive to the trigger; and determine the secondcomputing device to execute the second code using the data obtained bythe computing device.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructionsupon being executed further cause the system to: determine that thecomputing device is performing the process below the performancethreshold; cause at least a portion of the data to be communicated fromthe computing device to the second computing device; and cause thesecond computing device to execute the code to perform the process. 4.The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions upon being executed tocause the system to: determine the computing device by an evaluation ofeach of the plurality of candidate computing devices based at least inpart on respective utilization of each of the plurality of candidatecomputing devices.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructionsupon being executed to cause the system to: determine the computingdevice by an evaluation of each of the plurality of candidate computingdevices based at least in part on a respective security level of each ofthe plurality of candidate computing devices.
 6. The system of claim 1,wherein the instructions upon being executed to cause the system to:determine the computing device by an evaluation of each of the pluralityof candidate computing devices based at least in part on a respectivemonetary cost of each of the plurality of candidate computing devices toperform the process.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructionsupon being executed to cause the system to: determine the computingdevice by an evaluation of each of the plurality of candidate computingdevices based at least in part on a respective response time of each ofthe plurality of candidate computing devices.
 8. The system of claim 1,wherein the plurality of candidate computing devices includes aplurality of virtual computing devices operating on one or more physicalcomputing devices.
 9. A computer-implemented method, comprising:obtaining a request to perform a process requiring server resources;determining a trigger associated with the request; determining afunction comprising code and responsive to the trigger, the function forprocessing data associated with the trigger; determining a computingdevice from a plurality of candidate computing devices to execute thefunction based at least in part upon the computing device havingsecurity characteristics that are devoid of requirements for userintervention to execute the function; sending second instructions to thecomputing device for causing the data to be obtained from a remote datastore by the computing device using a network location; causing thecomputing device to execute the code to perform the process using thedata and to satisfy a performance threshold monitored for the processperformed on the computing device; and causing the code to be deployedto a second computing device of the plurality of candidate computingdevices having the security characteristics in response to changes toperformance of the process relative to the performance threshold so thatthe second computing device performs the process.
 10. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising: determininga second function comprising second code and responsive to the trigger;and determining the second computing device to execute the second codeusing the data obtained by the computing device.
 11. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising: determiningthat the computing device is performing the process below theperformance threshold; causing at least a portion of the data to becommunicated from the computing device to the second computing device;and causing the second computing device to execute the code to performthe process.
 12. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, furthercomprising: determining the computing device by an evaluation of each ofthe plurality of candidate computing devices based at least in part onrespective utilization of each of the plurality of candidate computingdevices.
 13. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, furthercomprising: determining the computing device by an evaluation of each ofthe plurality of candidate computing devices based at least in part on arespective security level of each of the plurality of candidatecomputing devices.
 14. The computer-implemented method of claim 9,further comprising: determining the computing device by an evaluation ofeach of the plurality of candidate computing devices based at least inpart on a respective monetary cost of each of the plurality of candidatecomputing devices to perform the process.
 15. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 9, further comprising: determining the computing deviceby an evaluation of each of the plurality of candidate computing devicesbased at least in part on a respective response time of each of theplurality of candidate computing devices.
 16. A non-transitory computerreadable medium storing instructions, the instructions, upon beingexecuted by at least one processor, causing the at least one processorto: obtain a request to perform a process requiring server resources;determine a trigger associated with the request; determine a functioncomprising code and responsive to the trigger, the function forprocessing data associated with the trigger; determine a computingdevice from a plurality of candidate computing devices to execute thefunction based at least in part upon the computing device havingsecurity characteristics that are devoid of requirements for userintervention to execute the function; send second instructions to thecomputing device to cause the data to be obtained by the computingdevice from a remote data store using a network location; cause thefirst computing device to execute the code to perform the process usingthe data and to satisfy a performance threshold monitored for theprocess performed on the computing device; and cause the code to bedeployed to a second computing device of the plurality of candidatecomputing devices having the security characteristics in response tochanges to performance of the process relative to the performancethreshold so that the second computing device performs the process. 17.The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16, whereinthe instructions upon being executed further cause the at least oneprocessor to: determine a second function comprising second code andresponsive to the trigger; and determine the second computing device toexecute the second code using the data obtained by the computing device.